Iowa Department of Transportation

If all goes according to plan, construction of the new I-74 bridge will begin this summer. Tuesday the Iowa Department of Transportation opened bids for the project connecting Moline with Bettendorf, across the Mississippi River.

Would you like to help re-build Interstate 80 ? The Iowa Department of Transportation is starting a long-term study of possible improvements from Council Bluffs to the Quad Cities, and a key component will be public participation.

Transportation Engineering Specialist, Wes Mayberry, says their goal is to make to 50 to 60 year old highway safer, and able to carry more traffic.

Listen

Listening...

/

0:12

Not enough lanes for today's traffic, and 20 to 40 years in the future.

Along the busiest stretch, from Iowa City to Davenport, it now carries an average of 35,000 vehicles per day, and will reach an estimated 53,000 by 2040.

People who sign up will soon begin receiving memos from the DOT, and asked to comment.

Listen

Listening...

/

0:18

Memos will be on topics like truck-only lanes, and bridges.

You can sign up by going to the Iowa DOT website and looking for the "I-80 Planning Study."

Mayberry says it's way too early to know the cost of rebuilding the interstate, and when any future projects will start.

Getting across the Mississippi River on the I-74 Bridge could be a headache for some drivers for the next 3 weeks. The Iowa Department of Transportation says work on the pavement will restrict traffic to one lane on the Illinois-bound side from today through August 9th.

Even though bridge construction is still at least two years away, the project to replace the I-74 bridge across the Mississippi River is on schedule. Project Manager, Doug Rick from the Iowa Department of Transportation, will give an update this afternoon to the Bi-State Regional Commission.

In a tweet yesterday, the Iowa Department of Transportation said a dozen of its snowplows were hit while half a foot of snow fell. The message also reminded drivers to be careful and give "snowfighters" more room to get roads cleared, and it included a link to this video.